Method of steaming locomotives



March 16 1926.

s. OTIS METHOD OF swmmne LOCOMOTIVES Filed Nov. 9. 1921 Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

' SPENCER one, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF STEAMING LOCOMOTIVES.

Application filed November 9, 1921. Serial No. 513,985.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SPENCER OTIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Coolr and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Steaming Locomotives,' of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a method of getting up steam in locomotives from a cold or no-pressure state, as for instance, after the locomotive has been washed out and refilled and it is desired to get it out of the round house and back on its assigned track with the leastpossible consumption of time.

It is customary in refilling a boiler after it has been washed out, to use water as hot as'can convenientlybe' manipulated by the nace.

operatives in order to avoid injury to the internal construction of the boiler, and at the same time the fire is started in the fur- But considerable time elapses before I the internal pressure of the-boiler rises to a point which will enable the locomotive to leave its stall in the roundhouse under 1ts own power, and this is time. which is very may causetemperature strains of destructive efiect. This is particularly important where it is proposed to introduce steam and water separately, the steam having a higher temperature than the water. In this instance, if effective means are not providedfor securing an admixture of the steam and water which will insure a resultant uniform average temperature, the steam and water may seek different levels and cause a difference in temperature between the upper and lower portions of the boiler shell with the resulting destructive effect referred to.

The present invention avoids the abov described undesirable feature in the treatment of locomotives, by providing the 10- comotive, preferably at the base of the boiler, with a steam injector that can be coupled to an extraneous source of live steam and utilized to inject steam into the boiler in a manner that will, in a. period of time that is much shorter than the time required for developing steam by the locom'otives own fire, bring the boiler to a temperature and pressure that will enable the locomotive to leave its stall and proceed to its assignea'l track, where, during the time interval that necessarily elapses before it is required to move its train, itsown fire-will have raised the steam pressure to the full head; and the steam injector provided for this purpose is so constructed and positioned that it creates a. circulation of the water within the boiler that will be effective to maintain uniformity of temperature throughout the boiler as the ten'iperature rises to the point where it creates the pressure desired. In other words, the device through which the steam is introduced is an effective injector and circulator combined.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a standard type of locomotive, with a portion of its boiler insection to disclose a steam injecting means appropriate to the realiza -tion ofthe object of the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the boiler and the steam injector with the latter shown in vertical section.

A represents a locomotive, and B a por-' tion of the boiler wall thereof. In the wall B is located a steam inject-or C which is adapted to be connected through a pipe 1), controlled by valve E, with any suitable extraneous source of steain'at a pressure that is adapted to develop steam pressure within the boiler B up to at least the minimuur at which the locomotive will be rendered self propelling.

In the preferred construction, the steam injector G is that illustrated in Figure 2, according to which a plug C, receiving the steam pipe D, is screwed into the boiler wall B and carries upon its inner end, as, for instance, through a reduced threaded nib G a jet nozzle C and a shell C having water inlets C surrounding the nozzle C in a relation which causes an intake of water by the suction of the steam jet issuing from the nozzle and the discharge of the steam and water in combination through the delivery outlet C. By giving the injector a suitable location, as, for instance, in the base boiling point and steam will accumulate above the water up to a pressure that Will be sutlicient to move the engine under its own power. By this procedure, the locomotive may pass out from its stall in the roundhouse within a comparatively short time after refilling its boiler; and if the boiler be refilled and the heating operation be initiated in advance, it can in many instances be removed as soon as mechanical repairs are completed. This results in a great saving in the service hours of locomotives maintaiued at the terminal, not only by returning each locomotive more promptly to duty, but by cutting down the timeduring which the locomotive generally has to wait for a vacant stall in the roundlrouse when needing washout or repairs. a

The invention is'valuable for moving a locomotive under its own power from a fire drawing station to a roundhouse. stall or elsewhere under ClI'Cllll'lSfflllCBS which have reduced its pressure below working efliciency.

I claim:

In a steam locomotive, a firebox. a boiler constructed in part around the fire box, an injector located in the p01 tion of the boiler surrounding the fire box, in position to induce circulation of the boiler water through said portion, and standing in propelling relation to the water, and means for connecting said injector with an extraneous source of steam; said injector being submerged in the Water of the boiler and constructed to admit the boiler water into mixing relation to the admitted steam, and to discharge the resultant mixture within the boiler and in a direction to induce boiler circulation.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this Ttli day of November, 1921.

' SPEJCER OTIS. 

